Nevada governor urges state lawmakers to clear way for online poker

CARSON CITY — Gov. Brian Sandoval has asked the state Legislature to act within 30 days on an Assembly bill to allow Nevada to join with other states to offer online poker games.

The bill would permit the governor to enter into agreements with other states to allow online poker and would repeal an existing law barring interstate gaming until a federal law is passed.

In his message to the Legislature, the governor said, “Nevada has always been the gold standard of both gaming regulation and agreements, and I intend to see to it that our state will lead the world into this new frontier.”

Some 20 licenses have been issued to casinos and companies to conduct online poker within Nevada, but none of the computer systems to run the games have been approved by the state.

A.G. Burnett, chairman of the Nevada Gaming Control Board, said the systems are still being tested to ensure they comply with technical requirements.